March Resolutions Check-In (With a Song for Philly)

1. Secret Resolution Cont’d

 Could always be better, but I’m giving myself a blue butterfly for effort.

2. More silence

 This is the hardest one ever, but the times I manage it, when I’m just sitting in a chair doodling or going for a walk without headphones or managing not to check the internet, it feels so good. Time stretches out and I feel worthwhile. I feel full of possibilities. Then I get sick of my own thoughts and put the music back on.

3. Get the new version of the manuscript finished and out into the world, even though I’m scared to.

I did get For the Comfort of Automated Phrases to a good stopping point—it felt so good the day that it gelled into something coherent, when I figured out the (kind of sad) story the poems were trying to tell. But the getting it out into the world part is slow going. I’ve been researching presses and ordering books from the ones that might work, formulating thoughtful things to say in cover letters, but I’ve yet to send the new version to anyone but friends. I guess it’s just a long process, but I also feel blocked about it. I’ve wanted a book with a spine for so long that it just seems impossible.

4. Do more things that are just about art.

Dear Resolution #4--Welcome to being an April resolution, since I forgot about you.

5. Get less lonely.

So much good came out of this one, especially getting myself out of hibernation. My favorite part was deciding to be less shy about reading around Philly. Last summer, our venue really let down some of the stars of the Philly scene, and I’ve been shy about visiting them ever since. But as soon as I started fighting that shyness, I realized that there’s nothing but love and welcome around town. Thanks Philly, I heart you.

Here’s a song that also reminds me of how much I love Philly: